


five times toni took a picture of cheryl and one time she didn't

by cherrysalad



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: 5+1 Things, F/F, Fluff, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, everything is choni and nothing hurts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-12
Updated: 2018-05-12
Packaged: 2019-05-05 18:45:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,248
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14624808
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cherrysalad/pseuds/cherrysalad
Summary: Some moments you don't need pictures to remember.





	five times toni took a picture of cheryl and one time she didn't

1.

It's Cheryl and Toni's first official date, they're sitting in a booth at pop's and Cheryl is sipping her strawberry milkshake and laughing around her straw. Toni's breath catches in her throat, Cheryl is so stunning and it's hard to believe that she's really Toni's. 

She pulls out her phone and takes a picture, Cheryl looks at her with an amused glint in eye. 

"Did you just take a picture of me?" Cheryl asks.

"Yes," Toni says.

"Why?" Cheryl's mouth quirks into a half smile.

"Because you're gorgeous," Toni answers, Cheryl's small smile grows into a grin. Toni leans over and cups her girlfriend's face with her hands before pulling her into a soft kiss.

She never posts the picture anywhere, that's not the point.

2.

"Babe," Cheryl says, nudging Toni awake at a ridiculous hour on a Saturday morning. She's been staying at thorn hill since her uncle last kicked her out and she doesn't plan on leaving at any time soon. 

"Mmph," Toni mumbles against her pillow. "What is it?" 

"Lets make pancakes," Cheryl says. 

"What time is it?" Toni asks through a yawn.

"It's already eight," Cheryl informs her. Toni snorts, Cheryl is one of those obnoxious morning people who think it's a crime to sleep past nine, it's something Toni just has to live with. It's worth it. 

"Fine," Toni sighs, sitting up and throwing the thin sheets off. "I'll make pancakes with you." Cheryl grins and in return Toni grants her a begrudging smile. 

She slides her feet into her slippers and follows Cheryl out of the bedroom and down the sweeping staircase into the kitchen. It's old fashioned, but well equipped, which is a good thing since both girls love to cook. 

That morning, it's mostly Cheryl who does the work, seeing as Toni's still half asleep. She hums to herself as she whisks the batter, she looks so happy and carefree in her oversized t-shirt and loose ponytail. Toni's heart aches. 

Conveniently, she's left her polaroid camera on the kitchen table. She picks it up and takes a picture, Cheryl turns around upon hearing the camera click and smiles at Toni.

"I love you," they both say at once, neither has said it before. They stare at each other for a minute before dissolving into giddy laughter.

3.

It's a hot June evening and Cheryl and Toni are lying in bed next to each other, sweaty hands clutched together. Toni looks over at her girlfriend, at her half lidded, sleepy eyes, her slightly parted lips, her flushed cheeks and bare chest.

"Can I take your picture?" Toni asks. Cheryl laughs.

"I should have expected this when I started dating a photographer," she teases, and then "but you can, of course you can." Toni grins and reaches for the polaroid camera she keeps on Cheryl's bedside table.

She aimed the camera and snapped the photo, which slowly slid out from the slot at the top. Toni looked at Cheryl as she waited for the picture to fade in. She was so otherworldly like some kind of goddess. Her eyes had fallen all the way shut and her pale chest rose and fell gently with every breath.

"How are you even real?" Toni asks quietly as she reaches out to brush a strand of red hair away from Cheryl's face. Cheryl only smiles softly and curls an arm around Toni, pulling her close to her chest.

Toni falls asleep with the photo in her hand and doesn't look at it until morning. 

4.

It's the last day before they leave for college and the girls are packing their clothing.

"Is this yours or mine?" Cheryl questions, holding up a lace top. Their wardrobes have gotten pretty mixed in throughout the past two years, sometimes they forget what was originally who's. Toni shrugs.

"Do you want it?" She asks. Cheryl looks at it pensively a for minute.

"Do you?" 

"Not really. It doesn't matter anyway, if I want it I can always come to your dorm and borrow it," Toni answers. Cheryl smiles and packs it away. 

"I don't know how I'm going to survive without you," Cheryl grumbles. 

"We're gonna be in the same city," Toni says feebly in an attempt to be positive. They're both going to school in Boston, Cheryl for art and Toni for photography.

"Not living together," Cheryl mutters "that's too far for me." Toni's heart flutters.

"I know what you mean," she says. "We'll learn to manage, and we only have to live on campus for freshman year. After that we can get an apartment together." 

"That's true," Cheryl says. "I'm just going to miss sharing the bed and cooking together and all that. Even if it's only for a year." She sighs and goes back to packing.

Toni pulls out her phone and takes a blurry, shitty photo. It doesn't need to be good, this just feels like a moment Toni wants to remember.

5.

Toni stands in the doorway of the studio where Cheryl is painting. They were supposed to go to a movie, but she looks so caught up in her painting that Toni doesn't want to interrupt her. 

She's got ear buds in and her hair in a pony tail and she's wearing paint splattered overalls. Toni loves seeing her like this, doing what she's passionate about. She picks up the fancy camera that she's taken to wearing around her neck wherever she goes and snaps a picture. 

Toni will develop it later and pin it to the bulletin board in her dorm room. She has a whole collage of pictures of Cheryl, which her roommate says is weird. Obviously her room mate hasn't found her soulmate yet. 

+1. 

They're sitting together in Pop's which is mostly deserted at this time of night. It's their first day of Summer vacation and the first time they've been in Riverdale in almost a year. 

"There's a reason I wanted to come here tonight," Cheryl says, grinning wide.

"You mean beside the phenomenal milkshakes?" Toni asks, taking a long sip of hers and groaning contentedly. Cheryl laughs. 

"Yeah, besides that," she says. "Do you remember when we saw Love, Simon together?" Toni nods.

"Of course I do," she says.

"Well, when we came here afterwards and you told me I wasn't loveless or deviant, that I was sensational, that was the first time I knew that you and I were going to have something special. So I thought it would be an appropriate place to do this," Cheryl takes a deep breath, gets out of the booth and gets down on one knee on the black and white tile floor. She pulls a small black box out of her pocket and opens it to reveal a glittering diamond ring. Toni stares at her with an expression somewhere between shock and joy. 

"Cheryl..." she says softly, her voice slightly choked. 

"Will you marry me, Toni?" Cheryl asks. Toni chokes out a laugh and lets tears spill from her eyes at the same time. 

"Yes, god yes," Toni says. "Of course I'll marry you." She holds out her left hand and Cheryl slides the ring onto her finger shakily. Then they both stand up and pull each other into a kiss. When they break apart, both of them were sobbing and giggling messes. 

Toni almost reaches for her camera, but then she stops herself. She doesn't need a picture, she's never going to forget anything about this moment.

**Author's Note:**

> ngl i legitimately cried writing this


End file.
